Date:08/06/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/06/08/stories/2005060800930700.htm

Back India, Canada agree on more bilateral flights

Our Bureau

New Delhi , June 7

INDIA and Canada have agreed to increase the number of flights between the two countries to 35 a week in each direction.

This was firmed up at the bilateral air services talks that concluded in Canada recently.

At present, Air Canada operates a daily flight between Delhi and Toronto, while Air India operates a three-times-a-week flight on the Delhi-Amritsar-Birmingham-Toronto sector.

The agreement allows the designated airlines from Canada to operate to five more cities in India - Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Kolkata. Similarly, the agreement permits the airline from India to operate regular flights to six cities there including Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Edmonton.

It was agreed that the two other cities in Canada to which the airlines could fly would be decided at a later stage by India.

The agreement also grants the fifth freedom rights to airlines from India between cities in different parts of the world including three intermediate points in Europe including the UK.

The fifth freedom right allows an airline to pick up passengers en-route - that is an AI flight from Delhi to Toronto will be allowed to pick up passengers from Birmingham during a transit halt.

The agreement allows airlines to operate a maximum of 14 flights a week to and from any single point in either India or Canada.